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You Told Us: Will Queens Boulevard Redesign Improve Safety in Forest Hills?

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | December 23, 2016 1:45pm
 The new bike lanes on Queens Boulevard and 50th Street.
The new bike lanes on Queens Boulevard and 50th Street.
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NYC DOT

You Told Us is a regular feature where we highlight comments from users in the communities DNAinfo New York covers.

FOREST HILLS — Major changes that are coming to Queens Boulevard in Rego Park and Forest Hills are still months away, but the plan has already stirred up some strong emotions among local residents, both in favor and against it.

The $100 million redesign of the busy thoroughfare, once dubbed the "Boulevard of Death," includes safety fixes such as bike lanes, extra space for pedestrians as well as traffic calming measures.

The revamp, which is being done as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, began in Woodside in 2015, and will move forward next year in Rego Park and Forest Hills, first between Eliot Avenue and Yellowstone Boulevard, and later between Yellowstone Boulevard and Union Turnpike.  

A number of readers took to Neighborhood Square to voice their opinions and concerns about the plan.

Some have welcomed it and called the proposed changes long overdue.

► "It's about time. No, wait... It's way PAST time!" — Neighborhood Square user PetrashAD

► "The road needs to be made safer for cycling and pedestrian traffic. If too many drivers are trying to use that road, then maybe we need to think about congestion pricing, building more transit infrastructure, and taking other steps so that only people who really need to drive are using these streets." — Neighborhood Square user simonphearson

Others expressed their frustration with the idea.

► "Disaster to the community. More traffic jam! bicycle never follow the rule of the road." — Neighborhood Square user twim-he

Still others included suggestions about what type of improvements should be implemented along Queens Boulevard in Central Queens.

► "Reduce the width of the islands to increase space for pedestrians and cyclists. Build the bike lanes and the cyclists will come (but not in winter weather). More crosswalks across the boulevard and don't take away parking spaces." — Neighborhood Square user MWeinblatt

Readers who live in the neighborhoods where the changes have already been implemented also chimed in and described both positive and negative experiences they've had so far.

► "I live in Elmhurst behind the mall. These new bike lanes are awful. It makes me angry everyday when I see hardly any bicyclists using them (the article picture is such a lie!), while traffic is even more congested than before. They reduced the service road from 2 lanes to one. Now when there's a long line of cars in front of you waiting to turn right, but you need to go straight, you can't drive around them anymore. I don't understand the logic of removing car lanes from a heavy-traffic area with 3 shopping centers in the vicinity. Since the implementation of bike lanes, I have seen more instances of cars blocking the box across Queens Blvd, causing even more traffic. They also added a new bike lane traffic signal on the eastbound merge to the outer lanes that confuses many motorists trying to get to the LIE or Woodhaven Blvd. I'm upset with DiBlasio for ignoring the community board who voted against the lanes. He doesn't live here, he doesn't drive here everyday, he doesn't know how it is. I understand the sense of bike lanes in Manhattan, but this is Queens. Many of us need cars. Many of us need to get to our jobs in places that are difficult to reach via public transportation or bike." — Neighborhood Square user Victory9

► "This has made conditions much less safe in elmhurst. We now have to drop children off in the middle of the busy street, have bicycles travelling between lanes of traffic, and increased congestion. Total failure of design." — Neighborhood Square user Trevor

► "DOT's safety improvements in Elmhurst & Woodside have made the Boulevard much safer for everybody. Some of their solutions at particularly challenging intersections & merger points are impressively ingenious. I hope they are able to continue these improvements into Rego Park & Forest Hills. I would encourage anyone worried about the increased space for pedestrians & the bike lanes to take a bike ride from 50th St & Queens Blvd out to Forest Hills. You will notice a huge difference in your own sense of safety and in how calm auto traffic is when you leave the improved area, just east of the Queens Mall." — Neighborhood Square user mattelmhurst